1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to bag closure tags, and more particularly to a new and improved apparatus for dispensing such tags.
2. Background Information
Closure tags include the familiar postage-stamp-size plastic devices commonly employed in commercial establishments such as food stores. They are used to retain the neck of a bag securely in a closed or collapsed configuration. One simply places selected articles in one of the plastic bags provided by the store, twists the neck of the bag closed, and then places a closure tag over the twisted neck. This secures the bag quickly, conveniently, and with little associated cost.
Conventional closure tags, such as those sold under the tradenames "KWIK LOCK" and "STRIPLOCK" by Kwik Lok Corporation of Yakima, Wash., typically take the form of a generally rectangular, thin plastic plate that is approximately twenty to twenty-five millimeters on each side. The plate includes a central opening and a narrow slit through which to insert the neck of the bag into the opening. A triangular notch at the tag periphery guides the twisted neck of the bag into the narrower slit, and then the neck is forced along the slit into the central opening where it is securely retained.
A quantity of these tags is often fabricated in a unitary strip so that the individual tags are connected together like a roll of stamps or tickets. Small interconnecting ears extending between adjacent tag peripheries provide a relatively weak connection between adjacent ones of the tags, and this facilitates manual separation. Folding two adjacent tags relative to one another where they are attached together causes the interconnecting ears to break, and in this manner one tag is separated from the strip.
To further facilitate dispensing, the strip is often formed into a coil and placed in a dispensing device. Thus, the user can withdraw a tag from the coil when needed and break it free for use. However, existing devices intended for use in dispensing a coil of closure tags have certain drawbacks that need to be overcome.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,856 to Kusters describes a bag closing apparatus whereby individual tags are dispensed from a coil. The tags are advanced along a channel to a stop member disposed perpendicular to the channel axis where they are torn off as used.
In operation, the most forward tag or first tag in the strip is supposed to be positioned in a loading position set back from the stop member such that the triangular notch is flush with an inclined surface on the device. The bag to be closed is slid down the inclined surface into the triangular notch of the forward tag, and the tag is advanced in the same motion to the stop. Here, the bag is pulled perpendicular to the channel axis to separate the first tag from the next or second tag in the roll, with the intention of leaving the second tag so that it is set back from the stop in the loading position.
However, the first tag often does not separate as intended. Instead, the first and second tags remain together, with the second tag breaking free from the third tag in the strip. Not only does this result in waste, but it often leaves the third tag in an inaccessible position within the channel. The inclined surface prevents insertion of another bag into the third tag, and the position of the third tag within the channel prevents grasping the tag with the fingers to advance it to the loading position. Thus, the dispenser must be reloaded or otherwise manipulated to reposition the tags for use.
Consequently, it is desirable to have a new and improved tag dispensing apparatus that overcomes this concern--one with features facilitating separation of just one tag at a time. In addition, it is desirable to have such an apparatus that enables more convenient advancement of the tags in the event the first tag in the strip does become set back within the channel.
Besides the dispensing of two tags at a time, other factors may cause the forward tag of the strip to become set back within the channel. For example, users of the dispenser device may accidentally push the first tag back into the channel, or manipulate the coil of tags for various reasons and thereby withdraw the first tag into the channel. This makes it necessary to again rethread the device.
Although, the device sold by Kwik Lock Corporation under the brandname "1003 (TEN-O-THREE) SEMI-AUTOMATIC BAG CLOSING MACHINE" includes a pair of spring biased jaws designed to inhibit rearward movement, this technique needs improvement. The opposing jaws travel in the plane of the tags to a locking position in which they seat in the space between two adjacent tags. In this position, the jaws contact the peripheries of the tags to inhibit rearward movement. However, they equally inhibit forward movement, and they often disengage by a cam-like action of the tags as the tags are moved rearwardly. Therefore, it is desirable to have a new and improved tag dispensing apparatus that alleviates this concern also, by inhibiting access to the coil of tags and by opposing rearward movement of the tags back into the channel without impairing forward movement.